Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 83 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
And yet we’ve seen our fundraisers raise as much as £2,000 in support of North London Cares. So how do they do it?
Indeed, raising £2,000 may initially seem like a terrifying amount, but what you break it down, it really isn’t that scary!
We’ve create a list of top tips, in order to get you going:
1. Plan ahead.
Capitalise on the various opportunities that are in the calendar before your challenge and think of what events you can run.
Easter? Why not set up an Easter Egg hunt with friends. Christmas? Get baking and make mince pies for the office. Halloween? Host a themed horror-film night, with appropriate food. Or just get inventive and a host a fun, themed event!
Volunteer Catherine held a Karaoke party, which went down a storm. Some of her top tips when hosting an event are:
“Invite everyone you know, because then you can ask them to donate even if they can't come - it’s much harder to ask someone you only know a little bit to donate, but if you invite them to a party, it’s then much easier!
"Say what they'll get for their money from a welcome cocktail (use up all your old dregs!) to what yummy nibbles you’re planning on making.
"For food, you could ask local restaurants to donate something, but my local kebab shop actually just gave me the ingredients and a quick cooking lesson, so I made the food myself"
"Send out invites as early as possible as it's London and people get booked up loads in advance!”
2. Mobilise
Get friends, family and colleagues involved in fundraising plans.
During Cares’ Cake Week in March, volunteer Victoria managed to inspire her whole office to get involved by baking every week day. Her range of sweet and savoury goodies meant that her team raised an awesome £270!
3. Try not to ask twice
If you’ve asked for donation from your friend, but you have also asked them to come along to your charity dinner, footie fundraiser, and donate to your raffle, they might feel overwhelmed.
Try to think of how your different friends, family and colleagues can get involved in different things. If you’re work colleagues love football, make the footie fundraiser a work-related event. If one group of friends love clothes, then invite them to a clothes auction. Tailor the ask to different groups of people.
4. Do what you’re good at and have fun!
Fundraising doesn’t have to be a trial. Get creative, have fun and use your skills and talents to help you reach that total.
Our challenge fundraiser Liz is a DJ, and her fellow fundraiser Robyn runs her own pie business called Thai in a Pie. To help them reach their fundraising target, they organised a PieMashup event at a local pub, with Liz on the decks and Robyn baking up a storm. What more fun could techno music and amazing pie with your friends be?
5. Tell your story
You’re going to all this effort to fundraise such an awesome amount of money - but what’s driving you to do it? Is it because of the neighbours you’ve met? Are you passionate about your local community? Has a friend inspired you?
Here is an example from, Caroline’s page:
“This is the one thing in my life that provides me with hope and optimism for my future. That I might be lucky enough to grow old and grey and I might be lucky enough to have North London Cares providing me with a social outlet, a place to broaden my horizons and meet all walks of life.
For that hope I am walking. 100km to be exact. North London Cares are worth all the blisters in the world. They make so many people incredibly happy including myself.”
Don’t just restrict your story to your fundraising page, post it on social media, mention it when talking to friends and inspire others to become as passionate as you are.
6. Break it down!
To make your fundraising seem manageable, put together a plan of how much you think you can raise from events, donations, and much more.
Example Fundraising Plan
Donations from family, friend and colleagues | £450 |
Match Giving Scheme at work | £250 |
Cake Sales (1, 2 or even 3!) Get colleagues on board to bake | £250 |
Charity Dinner Party (friends pay £10 to attend) | £100 |
Organise a music or quiz night at your local pub | £200 |
Host a Clothes’ Auction or car boot sale with friends | £150 |
Run a raffle | £50 |
Sweepstake on your finishing time | £50 |
Ask for donations rather than birthday/christmas presents | £80 |
Get creative! Use some crafty skill that you have to make things that you can then sell depending on the season. | £100 |
Get your friends involved and use their skills to host a fundraiser. | £200 |
Set up a competition - from footie to fishing! | £150 |
Total | £2,000 |
Feeling inspired?
Why not try to raise £2,000 for your north London community and help to fund a month's worth of social clubs? Take on a challenge or host your own series of events.